John Duncan’s Easy Ways to
Help Save Disappearing Bees...

Garden with Wild Flowers

Plant wild flowers in your garden. If you have the room, create cute meadows of wild flowers in your lawn or yard. You can plant wild flower seeds in early spring. Our wild seeds come in packets as well as bags and they look fantastic!

Eat Local

Now is the time to start growing your own pesticide-free fruit & vegetables. Fruit and vegetables not only make a ton of flowers but eating local means you are not contrib-uting to global pesticide use. This helps the bees in your neighbourhood and around the planet. Even a few pots of vegetables outside makes a big difference! If you cannot grow your own, then select as much organic produce as you can while getting the groceries.

Create Habitat

You too can help save the bees! Plant your flowers so that there are flowers from early spring to fall. Use bulbs, perennials, annuals and you can also let your some of your vegetables go to seed.

Build Shelter

Get a bee house and give our native bees some shelter. Bee houses are one of the top sellers last summer, but you can also build a bee nesting site. It is as easy as drilling holes in a log.

Go Old School

When choosing bee friendly plants, try the old standbys. Simple old fashion flowers are better than highly cultivated ones. Don’t worry about being traditional, these flowers never go out of style. Don’t forget that herbs that flower are the bee’s favorites!

Supply Water

Set out a bowl of water or fill a bird bath, but fill it with gravel, so the little guys don’t drown. Pebbles make it easy for them to get the water without putting them in further danger.

Bee Choosey

Support your local beekeeper. Buy local honey from a beekeeper you trust who cares about their bees.

Grow Au Naturel

If you want to help save the bees, use natural methods of pest control. You might be surprised how many insects birds can control. Put up birdhouses and feeders. For aphids, use ladybugs instead of chemicals as a natural solution. Ladybugs can clear out aphids in no time at all

Spread the word about helping to save bees and share John’s tips wherever you can.

Speaking of Bees, guess who has just arrived...

Our first ever shipment of Mason Bees!

Along with bees in a box, we have a full line of Crown Bee's habitats and everything you need to keep some of your own bees. Know as gentle bees mason and leafcutter bees are residents native to North America. They are considered gentle as they are very shy and only sting if they perceive serious danger. They do not attack to defend themselves. The stinger is actually an egg guide. Because of their docile behavior, mason bees are preferred by people who desire pollination in urban settings.

Female alfalfa leafcutter bees have stingers, but both sexes will usually use their mandibles as a defensive mechanism, usually only defending themselves when squeezed or antagonized. Therefore, bee suits, such as those required with honey bees, are not necessary when dealing with these bees. When these bees do sting, however, they do not lose their stingers or die after stinging.

Mason bees are named for their habit of using mud or other "masonry" products in constructing their nests, which are made in naturally occurring gaps such as between cracks in stones or other small dark cavities; when available the preferentially use hollow stems or holes in wood which are readily available here.

They are active from spring through late summer. Once you have habit in place for your bees will be ready to get into your garden. Just follow a few steps and you will have your very own pollinators buzzing about.

Keep cocoons in their box or transfer them to a slightly larger container that allows some degree of air flow.

Cocoons must be stored under refrigeration to prevent them from waking up from winter hibernation. Consider using our HumidiBee (cocoon humidifier) to keep your bees moist in the fridge.

When daytime temperatures have reached about 10-13C, you can place the bee cocoons into the bee house. Place the box of cocoons top of the nesting holes with the lid open. The bees will emerge from their cocoons and crawl over the nesting material.

Please note: Bees also need sufficient pollen available from blooming flowers. Try to avoid holding your bees in hibernation past May 1st as they will begin to die in their cocoons or may emerge too weak to fly and forage.